The Naruto Saga
by Monogatari-Sensei
Summary: Akatsuki declares war upon the Shinobi world and the alliance of the 5 Kages, as Naruto struggles to achieve his goal of bringing Sasuke back from the Darkness. Amidst Chaos, help arrives from a very unusual source. Naruto x Hinata, Sakura x Sai x Sasu
1. The Beginning

Hiya everyone, welcome to my newest story on one of my favorite anime NARUTO! Now I'll be little slow in updating this story in the beginning because I'm approaching the climax of my other story 'The Reason for Existing' also a Naruto fic. So please bear with me for the first few chapters!

* * *

><p>It was a fine day at Konoha. The sky was blue; the white clouds swam lazily across it. The streets were filled with busy people. The trees were rustling in the wind. And as usual the Hokage's Tower was echoing with shouts and crashes.<p>

Not even a full month had passed since the Akatsuki's Leader 'Pain' had invaded Konoha and destroyed it from the centre using a jutsu of unimaginable power. Naruto Uzumaki, the jinchurki of the Kyubi had defeated all six bodies of Pain and had sought a private meeting with Nagato, the real body of Pain. What had passed between Nagato and Naruto still remained a mystery because the blonde refused to speak about it. But the final outcome was that Nagato felt the horror of what he had done and had sacrificed his life by performing a life giving jutsu on the village and reviving those who had already been killed.

The village had not completely been built back to it's former grandeur but was making extremely fast progress, all that remained to be fixed were the Training Areas 70 – 100 and a few patches here and there. The Godaime Hokage Tsunade had taxed every ounce of her chakra to protect the villagers and had fallen into a deep coma for the next 25 days. In these 25 days the Leader of the Anbu Root, Shimura Danzo had been elected as the candidate Sixth Hokage by the Fire Daimyo and the Elders, however before his appointment could become official the news had arrived that Tsunade had awoken from her coma and thus the busty Hokage had been re-instated to her former position.

Said Hokage was currently in a furious mood as the village Elders Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado stood before her eyeing her with utter disdain.

"What the hell do you mean? I thought we already discussed this matter a hundred times" cried Tsunade as her assistant Shizune winced at the volume of her mentor's voice.

"Calm down Tsunade, you are not making the situation any better with your rage" said Koharu Utatane, the female Elder calmly as Tsunade glared at her and sat down muttering under her breath.

"It's true we agreed to let you give Uzumaki Naruto missions outside the perimeter of Konoha, we even allowed you to let him go to Mount Myoboku and train, however in light of the past events I feel it is necessary that this freedom be taken away from Naruto, for his own safety of course" said Homura Mitokade.

"You saw what the Akatsuki is capable of, god forbid if they were to attack our village again while it's still in such a fragile condition then who knows what could happen. If Naruto was allowed to go roaming whever he liked it might make the Akatsuki desperate" said Koharu Mitokade getting ready for a fresh outburst from Tsunade.

Instead Tsunade fell back on her chair as her shoulder slumped down. "I don't believe you two" she said in a voice filled with disbelief.

The Elders had not expected this reaction thus their eyebrows turned to frowns.

"What?" asked Homura as Tsunade leaned forward.

"Are you two blind? Or maybe you're deaf? You're certainly not dumb, unfortunately but there must be something vital missing in you, did you not see?" asked Tsunade.

"Stop behaving like a child and state clearly what you want to say Tsunade" barked Koharu Utatane getting irritated.

"Let me ask you a question? Do you think it would be possible for me, or you two, or Danzo to waltz up to one of the most dangerous criminals in the Shinobi world, the person who killed Jiraiya, the person who leads a group of the most savage criminals, is it possible for us to waltz up to him and convinced him to see the wrongs of his ways and then show him the right path too? What do you think would have happened if Naruto had not done what he did? It's shameful I admit but I would probably have failed to protect the village. Konoha would have been obliterated, no…don't interrupt me, don't you people see that Naruto is not a weapon for Konoha to use against anybody Akatsuki or otherwise. Don't you see how people look at Naruto these days? He's a hero in Konoha and the first people who should be thankful to him are the two of you" said Tsunade with surprising calm.

The two seemed slightly taken aback by this however they didn't seem to bring out a suitable comeback.

"You're silent now. It's because you know you can't use the villagers hatred and fear of the Kyubi to your intention and persuade the village into isolating Naruto like you did with Sarutobi-sensei. And let me tell you this, if you two hadn't been his teammates I would have slugged you two and that stuck up Danzo a long time ago" said Tsunade.

"Tsunade!" cried the two Elders as they pushed back their chairs and got up.

"I'm not joking. Now are you going to reclaim your decision of not letting Naruto leave the village or do I have to convince you a little more?" asked Tsunade cracking her wrist when she said 'convincing'.

"Also if Naruto-Kun was kept in the village then Akatsuki might be even more tempted to attack Konoha. The more permanent he becomes the more likely that area is to fall under attack" said Shizune.

The two Elders gulped and glared as they gathered their wits, "Very well, we will comply with you Tsunade, however you must know we don't think much of you as a Hokage, using threats to have your way, if the Daimyo is furious it will be your fault and we'll make sure he knows that" said Homura Mitokade as the two shuffled out of the room with as much dignity as they could muster.

Tsunade let out a sigh of relief as she sat back on her chair, "Those two are really irritating, I wonder when they'll die and let the village have some proper Elders" said Tsunade.

"Tsunade-Sama, please don't say things like that. Anyways you're much too stressed, you ought not to be working so hard right after you woke up" said Shizune.

"I have no say in it, the Five Kage Summit is taking place in two weeks time and there are a hundred things I need to sort out before I can go to that damn meeting" said Tsunade tapping her pen on her table.

"Well isn't it wonderful that there have been so many promotions?" asked Shizune as she poured out some green tea for Tsunade.

Jounin Exams had taken place in Konoha 20 days after Pain's Invasion to raise the standard of the village. Five chunins and one genin had been promoted to the rank of Jounin. The Chunins being Haruno Sakura, Shikamaru Nara, Inuzuka Kiba, Rock Lee and Aburame Shino. Needless to say the entire village had supported the prospect of Naruto skipping the Chunin exams. A feeble protest was put up by the Elders but they had been cried down. Some people even wanted to elect Naruto as the Hokage when Tsunade decided to retire.

"The nerve of that punk, as if I'm anywhere close to retiring, the day I retire is still far off" said Tsunade as her eyes softened, "However Naruto will become Hokage someday, and a great Hokage, maybe even as great as my grandfather"

Just then the door flew open and Haruno Sakura rushed in after a very energetic Uzumaki Naruto.

"Say Granny, I met the geezers on the way up, what did you say to them? They looked like someone put them across their knee and spanked them" said Naruto cheerfully.

"Naruto!" cried Sakura hitting the blonde on the head hard causing him to bow down in front of Tsunade.

"Naruto you're a Jounin now, we can't have you speaking like a little 12- year old" said Kakashi quietly from behind them.

"I was under the impression that Naruto-kun's mind was still that of a 12 year old" said Sai stoically as Naruto turned to him, "What was that? You got something to say jerkface?"

Despite being Jounin team Kakashi had not disbanded. They were all capable of carrying out single missions but when Team missions were concerned Tsunade preffered Naruto to be under Kakashi or Yamato and with Sakura always by his side. She was not very trustful of Sai but was learning to trust him.

Over Naruto's yells and Sai's impertinent replies Sakura walked over to Tsunade and handed her a file.

"This is a report of our missions. We completed the mission sucessfuly but one important thing is that we met an Akatsuki pair on our travel. We don't know exactly what happened, it could have been a genjutsu, but it seemed as if one of them attacked their partner and before we knew it the two had disappeared. They didn't even attempt to fight Naruto" said Sakura.

"Hm, well after the death of Pain and his partner how many members of Akatsuki do you think there are?" asked Tsunade.

"There are Itachi Uchiha and his partner Hoshigaki Kisame" suggested Shizune.

The former's name brought a dark look over Naruto and he stopped yelling at Sai as his bangs cast a shadow over his eyes.

A month or two before Pain's invasion Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato had run into Sasuke and his group of three members which was then called 'Hebi'. Recently renamed as 'Taka' they had followed the four when suddenly Sasuke had turned on them and attacked them viciously before disappearing into thin air. Later they had discovered Sasuke and Itachi's unconscious bodies at an old building. Itachi was about to die of blood loss when suddenly an Akatsuki member with a Venus fly trap over his head and his skin split into Black and White had appeared out of the ground with an Akatsuki member wearing an orange swirly mask. Before they knew it Sasuke and Itachi's bodies had disappeared and after a brief bout with the two Akatsuki members they had lost track of them too. Only three days earlier had news arrived from Kusagakure that Sasuke and his team 'Taka' had been spotted there wearing Akatsuki cloaks. The news had shattered Naruto and he had been depressed for the next two days cheering up only when he got a mission.

"True, they are still there but it wasn't them. We would have recognized Kisame Hoshigaki with his huge sword. Moreover why would one of them wish to attack the other? I was under the impression when they attacked four years ago, that they were a rather smooth team" said Kakashi.

"I suppose so, it's strange, I felt that after their Leader died Akatsuki would cease to operate, but it seems as if someone has stepped forward and become the next Leader. And there is the possibility that they hired new members" said Shizune.

"The thing is we have such little information about them after Jiraiya-Sama's death. If only we knew more then we could have been sure" stated Sai.

Tsunade meanwhile had not been listening to the conversation. Her brown eyes seemed haggard and worried as she began tapping her finger nail upon the wooden surface of her table. This reaction did not go unnoticed by Kakashi.

"I agree it would be better if we had more information on them" said Shizune.

"Information. I suppose if we got a lot of inside information then it would help us a lot?" said Tsunade.

"That's a rather rhetorical question Tsunade-Sama" said Kakashi, "Do you perhaps know anything consequential?"

Suddenly Tsunade slammed her fist onto her table and stood up.

"Okay Kakashi, you, Naruto, Sai and Sakura need not function as a team for a while, you're all dismissed for now. Take some rest, that must have been a very taxing mission even though it was only a day long. Shizune, go to the hospital and spend the rest of the day there, I'd like to be alone for a while" said Tsunade as her assistant and Sakura threw her a concerned look.

"Is…everything all right Tsunade-Sama?" asked Sakura.

"Yes, yes, everything's fine. Now leave quickly all of you" said Tsunade practically pushing them all out of her office and slamming the door shut. They heard the bolt being drawn across as the heard footsteps going back to the desk.

"Well, of all the mad things to do. I tell ya, Granny's going senile" said Naruto looking puzzled as he sauntered off with Sai in the tow.

Shizune and Sakura merely looked confused as they too left. Kakashi stood in front of the Hokage's door for a while staring into space before he too turned and walled out of the hallway.

Meanwhile within the Hokage's room Tsunade sat behind her desk writing feverishly on a large scroll, filling it with her neat, slanting hand writing. After finishing an extremely long letter she rolled it up, put it in a scroll container and then bit her thumb and slammed her fist down onto the floor of her room summoning a small clone of Katsuyu.

"What can do for you today Tsunade-Sama?" asked the slug politely as Tsunade held out the scroll.

"Absorb it Katsuyu. Then ride atop one of my fastest messenger birds and leave this note where _she_ checks for it. Got it?" asked Tsunade.

"Hai, I hope nothing's wrong?" asked Katsuyu as she enveloped herself around the scroll.

"Everything's wrong. And hopefully with her here she'll help me put things right" said Tsunade as she went to her private aviary and opened the cage of a powerful looking messenger eagle.

"Oh dear, he's still a bit scary after all the times I've ridden atop him. Oh well, rest assured Tsunade-Sama I will do my utmost best to get this letter safely to her" said Katsuyu crawling atop the eagle who gave a scream and rose into the air.

"Good luck Katsuyu, don't fail me" muttered Tsunade as the sun ducked behind a storm cloud.

* * *

><p>Far away in a temple in the forgotten village of Yumegakure <em>(Village Hidden in Dreams)<em> sat a cloaked figure in front of a statue of a god with four hands and three eyes. The statue was made of stone and was rather poorly carved. The quality of the stone however was excellent because despite being a hundred years old the statue was in perfect condition.

Sitting in Indian style before it the cloaked figure was silent. The silence of the air was suddenly broken when the harsh cry of an eagle pierced the air. Getting up slowly the cloaked figure walked out into the courtyard of the temple when suddenly a scroll came fluttering down into her outstretched hands.

The cloak had red clouds all over it.

* * *

><p>Well that's it for this chapter. Hope you guys liked it. I'll try and update as soon as I can. Bye for now!<p> 


	2. Konoha Infiltrated?

Hello and welcome back everyone to the second chapter of 'The Naruto Saga'. A very big thank you to -: **Rose Tiger****, ****Melikalilly ****and ****waveofchaos112** for reviewing for the previous chapter. I hope you'll all like this chapter as well.

* * *

><p>Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha feeling extremely bored. After they had all left Tsunade's office Sai had run off to report to Danzo. Shizune and Sakura had gone off to the hospital whereas Kakashi had mumbled an excuse of having friends over at his house and had disappeared when Naruto's back was turned.<p>

"_What to do, what to do? I can't hang out at Ichiraku's because it's still closed"_ thought Naruto frowning.

Teuchi, the owner of the Ichiraku Ramen Stand was a member in the reconstruction crew and thus though the stand had been rebuilt by Inari and Tazuna a long time ago Teuchi had not yet opened it up for business.

"I guess I'll go train a little" said Naruto as he started running towards the training grounds that had been rebuilt.

As he got there however he noticed two people already sparring. They were attacking each other with fists and bursts of chakra could be felt from everywhere.

"Neji and Hinata" thought Naruto blushing slightly as he remembered Hinata's words before she had attacked Pain.

"_I...I wonder if she really meant that"_ thought Naruto as he decided to sit down and wait for the two to finish.

Just then he noted that the flare of chakra had gone down and the two Hyuga were now taking a few steps away and bowing to each other. Hinata turned and froze as she saw Naruto sitting on the sideline.

"Umm, heh, heh, hi Hinata-Chan" he said waving his hand uneasily.

"N-Naruto-Kun, I…well…I…must go now" said Hinata suddenly turning and rushing away in the opposite direction.

"Wah? Hey Hinata-Chan, wait" he cried in vain as the Hyuga Heiress raced away blushing crimson red.

"Whatever you said to her it's affecting her a lot. You'd best sort things out with her or else its going to affect her conduct within the Main House and I'll have to intervene then" said Neji looking at Naruto.

"What? What the hell did I do? It was she who said she…" Naruto broke of as he blushed a little.

Neji sighed, "For all your heroics you're a coward when it comes to charming a woman"

"Yeah right as if you're some great ladies man" scoffed Naruto.

'I choose not to be, but I'm sure I could very well do better than you with any woman" said Neji turning away.

"Try starting with your own teammate then" called Naruto.

Neji stopped and turned, "Tenten? Why would you bring her into this?" he asked uncertainly.

"Ha! And you call me clueless. Maybe if you'd notice your teammates in a little different light you'd see the things I see" said Naruto puffing out his chest proudly.

"I refuse to discuss this matter with you any longer. I have better things to do" said Neji turning away with his nose in the air and walking away.

As he walked away he lowered his head a little, "Tenten huh? Well maybe I will look into things, only to keep me from getting bored of course" he muttered.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Neji's retreating back and then proceeded to sit down and meditate. His training techniques had changed a lot over the past year. Earlier he had been more energetic and willing to do physical training and had never agreed to sit down and train his mind. After undergoing extremely strict training at Mybokuzan under the threat of being turned into a toad he had learned to exercise his mind as well.

* * *

><p>"Sakura, you can leave now. The number of patients have gone down significantly, thanks to you I'm sure" smiled Shizune as she walked up to Sakura who was dressed in her medic's outfit.<p>

"Oh, but I'd like to help you out for some time Shizune-Sempai" said Sakura.

"No Sakura, you've just returned from a mission, you should be taking things easy, anyways Tsunade-Sama ordered you to take rest" instsed Shizune and after some arguing Sakura admitted defeat and began trudging back home.

_"Sasuke, I can't believe you joined the Akatsuki, knowing who they're after, knowing what will happen if they succeed. It…it wasn't meant to be this way"_thought Sakura as she bumped into someone.

"S-Sasuke?" she said softly.

"Umm, no last time I checked I was still Sai" said Sai.

Sakura snapped back to reality as she noticed the usual pale skin, and midriff-baring shirt.

"Oh, it's you" said Sakura feeling disappointed.

"You seem disappointed Ugly. Fantasizing about Uchiha Sasuke? Well one must agree he is appealing to look at however it still baffles me that…"

"The things that baffle you would fill a book" said Sakura exasperatedly.

"Speaking of books, I was wondering if you would be willing to do me a favor" said Sai in his usual tone as Sakura began walking.

"A favor? Let's hear it" she said as Sai walked beside her.

"I read in a book that to get complete understanding of a person's heart one must stock up on romance novels. I tried asking Kakashi-sensei about it, and he very kindly loaned me the book he always reads" said Sai as Sakura gave a groan and clutched her hair.

"It was very enlightening on certain matters however I still didn't understand emotions, so I went to Naruto and he suggested that a real man mustn't be caught dead reading romance novels. I was in a baffled condition when I met a stranger who gave me the perfect solution" said Sai.

"A stranger? Where, in Konoha?" asked Sakura.

"No, in Takigakure, where we had to go for our last mission" said Sai.

"Wait, wait, wait, when did you get time to hold this conversation with a stranger?" asked Sakura.

"While we were scouting for the target. The person heard me and Naruto talking and she approached me later and advised me to…"

"So let me get this straight, while Kakashi-Sensei and me were working our butts off to find that bastard target you were happily chit chatting with some woman about what types of romance novels to read?" cried Sakura as the people began staring.

"I wouldn't call it chit chatting. I was merely accepting guidance from an expert. The lady said she was an author you see and I thought who better would know which book to read than an author. She gave me a list of books to read. However keeping in mind Naruto's advice I mustn't be caught dead looking for these books so I was wondering if you'd…"

"No. Absolutely not. I refuse to go to the library and pick out some cheap romance novels suggested to you by some woman when you were supposed to be scouting. I refuse to do it." Said Sakura.

"Please ugly; I'll do something for you in return. But I really need these books" said Sai holding out a piece of paper filled with untidy handwriting.

"Okay, firstly, when you ask someone for favors you don't call them ugly. Secondly why would you ask _me_ of all people to get your goddamned books, and thirdly, I keep telling you emotions can't be obtained from reading books, you have to feel them, you have to know them" said Sakura.

"Precisely why I read books, so that I can know emotions. Please ug…Sakura," said Sai pushing the list into her hand.

"Okay fine, but you owe me a favor, and I'm so going to hold it over you" said Sakura as she accepted the list from Sai.

"Hai, thank you very much Sakura, I'll need those books by tonight so you'd better rush, the library closes in another two hours"

"Yeah, yeah, goodness, there're ten books here, how many will you read before it enters your head that these books don't help" said Sakura.

"Oh but they do help. I can understand you slightly better now than I could when we first met" said Sai giving her a tiny genuine smile which was very rare.

Sakura blushed lightly and watched him as he walked away giving a large fake smile to Kiba and Chouji who gave him an astonished look.

Going over the list Sakura found her blush deepening as she viewed the names of some of the books _"Love Juice. Momma's Day Out. The Advantages of a Bed. Taste Buds on Skin. Goodness, what kind books did that female tell him to read? God I won't ever be able to visit the library after today"_ groaned Sakura mentally as she headed to the library.

* * *

><p><em>(5 days later)<em>

"So baby, we up for tonight?" asked Genma Shiranui seductively licking the ear of a fellow Anbu Female who pushed him away and regarded him coldly.

"I was unaware that I made any plans to spend my night with you Shiranui" she said coldly.

"Aww, come on, don't be like that. You know you want to do it" said Genma smiling.

"Dream on" said the female walking out of the guard station.

"Tough Luck Genma, try something new next time" laughed his friend Raido Namiashi.

"Do not be discouraged Genma-San. Your youthful enthusiasm will ultimately lead you to your success" stated Rock Lee who had been put on guard duty along with Genma, Radio, the female Anbu Yukariko, Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane.

"I doubt that" said Izumo.

"Will you _men_ stop fooling around in there and actually guard the gate? Remember we're on top security after the destruction of the village caused by Pain the Leader of Akatsuki which is a highly dangerous organization for…"

"Oh boy she's at it again. Going on and on about Akatsuki, she's obsessed about that organization" said Raido.

"I suppose so, but she's damn hot" said Genma walking out.

Just then he heard a cry from outside and immediately the five men stopped laughing and rushed outside.

Yukariko had drawn out her katana and was standing in front of the gate in battle stance. Beyond her, just in front of the gate stood a lone figure clothed in a black cloak with red clouds and a kasa hat pulled over the face.

* * *

><p>Naruto stared as a number of chunins ran towards the gate. Amongst them he spotted Iruka and rushed over to his former teacher.<p>

"Hey Iruka-sensei, what's going on, why all the havoc?" asked Naruto.

Iruka looked slightly hesitant before speaking, "Its orders from the Hokage Naruto, you're not to go to the gate, but they spotted an Akatsuki member there and they're telling the chunin to…"

But before Iruka could finish Naruto had run off in the direction of the gate.

"Hey, wait, Naruto! Damn it" cried Iruka but Naruto was long gone.

_"Akatsuki, those damn bastards just don't give up. Even after Nagato died those freaks keep showing up"_ thought Naruto when suddenly two wooden branches erupted around him and wrapped themselves around him and in a trice a wooden dome formed around him, rendering him unable to move.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but Tsunade-Sama has especially forbidden you to even go near the gates" said Yamato apologetically ignoring the screams and shouts echoing from within the dome.

Meanwhile Kakashi and Sai rushed towards the north gate where there had been an infiltration. Upon their arrival the noticed the jounin gathered on the sides as the Akatsuki member stood in front of the gate holding up a large paper which looked like a map. Nobody seemed willing to attack the cloaked person and instead they only stared at him or her with hazy, unfocused eyes.

Sai took out his scroll and drew three ink lions which charged towards the Akatsuki.

The cloaked figure merely disappeared from where he or she was standing and appeared in a different spot, when another lion appeared there he or she moved again till suddenly Sai found himself facing the lower half of the Akatsuki's face, as the kasa hat blew slightly in the breeze.

"Could you guide me to the Hokage Tower please" said the Akatsuki in a soft female voice.

Sai hurriedly stepped back when suddenly Kakashi appeared behind the Akatsuki and attacked her with a Raikiri.

The woman exploded into a log which was now sliced into tiny pieces.

_"A substitution jutsu? Damn, how could I fall for such a petty trick"_ cursed Kakashi.

Kakashi and Sai's attacks seemed to have broken all the other Jounin out of the trance-like state they were in and they began raining attacks down upon the Akatsuki who simply dodged them all before suddenly appearing before Kakashi again.

Before Kakashi could react he got a slight glance of silver and immediately he was caught in a dark space.

_"A genjutsu?"_ thought Kakashi and brought his hand together to form a release seal.

**"It's useless, a Kai release will not work on my genjutsu, however I shall now let you go for I have read your mind and found out where I must go"** said the soft female voice.

Kakashi found himself staring at the back of the Akatsuki who simply walked on, dodging all of the Jounin's moves.

"Lightning Release: Beast Running Jutsu" cried Kakashi forming two Raikiri in his hand and creating two large lightning wolves out of them which ran towards the Akatsuki. Half way through Sai's Lions joined them as well.

The Akatsuki stopped and as if in slow motion there was a huge gust of wind as her kasa hat blew off revealing hip length black hair and a pair of strikingly bright silver eyes. There was silence. The beasts and lions had suddenly disappeared. The Akatsuki member picked up her hat which had blown away a few yards and then calmly went her way.

To Kakashi's shock he found all the Jounin on the ground unconscious. Even Sai had fallen. He himself was beginning to loose consciousness; the last thing he saw before his world went black was the back of the Akatsuki member.

* * *

><p>Tsunade was drinking sake in her room when there came a knock at her door. She stomped over to the door and threw it open when a gust of wind met her and caused her to take three steps back. The door slammed shut on its own.<p>

"_Hm, that's funny, I guess the wind must be rattling the door"_ thought Tsunade before turning and seeing black cloaked figure sitting on one of the visitor's chairs.

"You! When did you get in here?" stuttered Tsunade in surprise.

"Just now"

Tsunade gaped at her for a while before walking back to her own desk and sitting down.

"I got your letter Godaime Hokage, is it true you wish for me to reclaim my former position?" asked the woman.

"First of all why are you still dressed as an Akatsuki, if anyone saw you there might have been a battle" said Tsunade.

"Oh plenty of people saw me; I just knocked them all out. I must say your gate guards are extremely susceptible to genjutsu, they never even realized I was playing with their minds" said the woman.

Tsunade groaned, "Oh god, those elders and Danzo will have my head over this, how many did you knock out?"

"Around twelve, not including Hatake Kakashi and a pale boy, with a shirt which exposes his stomach" said the woman.

"Sai, oh damn, then this will certainly reach Danzo" said Tsunade.

"Ah, our old friend Danzo, I heard somewhere that he became Hokage, but it seems my sources were wrong"

"They were right, he was the Hokage for around 25 days but I managed to reclaim my title before it got official, thank god" said Tsunade.

"I see, well then Godaime Hokage Tsunade, why is it that you've summoned me back after four years of having me pose as a missing ninja?" asked the woman.

"Rei Asakura, I wish to re-instate you to your former position of Supreme Commander of The Anbu, working directly under me. Also I hereby mark the end of the S- Rank mission which was given to you, you will no longer be classified a missing ninja and your name shall be removed from Konoha's Bingo Book." Said Tsunade in a voice which meant business.

The woman called Rei said nothing for a while before getting up and removing her kasa hat and facing Tsunade. Tsunade's brown eyes locked with her silver ones as she sank to the floor on her knee.

"Very well Godaime Hokage, I shall be honored to serve under you once again" said Rei as Tsunade smiled.

* * *

><p>Well that's it for now. Lemme know what you thought about it. More NaruxHina and SaixSaku coming up. See you next time!<p> 


	3. The Conflicting Agendas

Hi guys, welcome to the third chapter of 'The Naruto Saga'. I'd really like to reach 10 reviews by the time I'm ready to publish the fourth chapter so please, please, be generous and leave as many reviews as you want!

* * *

><p>Naruto could not believe what he was hearing. He simply couldn't believe it. It was impossible!<p>

Five hours after Yamato had released him from his wooden prison Naruto had rushed to the gate not bothering to hear Yamato out. There he found a group of medical ninja hauling unconscious chunin and jounin onto stretchers and carrying them back to the hospital.

He had realized that whatever battle had taken place had ended and he had run back to bump into Sakura who was on her way to the hospital lugging what appeared to be a bag filled with books.

"Sakura-Chan! What happened?" asked Naruto running up to her.

"You're not going to believe this Naruto, but apparently that Akatsuki member is sitting in Tsunade-Sama's office and drinking sake with her." Said Sakura.

Naruto looked at her as if she'd lost her mind.

"No I'm not crazy. Shizune-San served her sake, and she told me" said Sakura who was now jogging towards the hospital.

"Are you kidding me? An Akatsuki member sitting drinking sake with Granny? That's rubbish Sakura-Chan" stated Naruto as Sakura gave him an irritated look.

"I'm only telling you what I heard Naruto. And don't you go and burst into Tsunade-Sama's office yelling and screaming now" said Sakura running in the direction of the hospital.

"_Then what he hell am I supposed to do? Go home and sleep knowing there's an Akatsuki in the village?"_ thought Naruto running towards the Hokage Tower.

As he got there he saw many of the significant Shinobi from the village clustered around the Hokage's Tower. Amidst the crowd he saw Anko Mitarashi, Ibiki Morino, Gai, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Chouza Akimichi, Tsume Inuzuka, Shibi Aburame, a member of the Hyuga clan was also present amonst the crowd.

"Ah, there he is, we were all wondering when you'd show up" said Anko.

"Is that Akatsuki still there?" asked Naruto gasping for breath.

"Yeah but the Hokage is having an ultra secret meeting with her, only the Konoha Council's most esteemed members are invited" said Shikaku Nara.

Naruto's face must have betrayed his thought of 'I'm so busting in' because immediately Ibiki Morino stepped in front of him.

"The Hokage and the Council must not be disturbed. It is my job to make sure that they WON'T be disturbed. Got that?" asked Ibiki.

Naruto grimaced before turning away.

"Don't worry Naruto, they'll be done in an hour or so" said Inoichi trying to cheer him up.

"But it's strange, what could they be discussing in there for the past four hours?" asked Tsume Inuzuka.

"We'll know when they come out I guess. No use thinking about it" said Shikaku.

"You just say that 'cause you're too lazy to think" snapped Tsume as Shikaku held back a retort fully knowing what Tsume could do to outspoken men and wondering what the condition of her husband whom she had 'Chased off' was.

Meanwhile deep inside the Hokage Tower in the Council meeting room a heated battle of words had been going on.

"Explain yourself Tsunade. How dare you, how dare you allow a filthy Akatsuki member to…"

"I assure you Lord Elder you have nothing to fear on grounds of dirt for I have a bath every day" interrupted Rei seriously as the elder speaking glared at her and continued his rant.

"Shut up! How dare you allow this scum to infiltrate our village only to let us know she's working for you? How could you take such a big decision yourself? And how do we know whether we can truest her or not? How can we…"

"Will you just shut your trap for a millisecond you old fart" yelled Tsunade banging her fist upon the table casuing a large crack to appear.

Some of the elders cried out in surprise while the elder who had been shouting sat down hurriedly.

"Such acts of violence are highly uncalled for in the current situation Tsunade. We would appreciate if you controlled your temper a bit better and explained to us what is happening" said Danzo quietly from the other end of the room.

Tsunade glared at him and then spoke, "As you all might know Rei Asakura is a legend amongst Konoha's Elite Security, obtaining the position of Anbu Captain at the age of 13 beating Itachi Uchiha's record by three months. Four years ago, just after I became Hokage I was informed by Jiraiya of the threat of Akatsuki. When Itachi Uchiha and his partner infiltrated Konoha I realized there had to be someone who would have to infiltrate Akatsuki and gain information and possibly hamper their progress. I chose Rei for this task" said Tsunade.

"W-hat? You decided all that without consulting even one of us? How could you Tsunade?" asked Homura Mitokade.

"Look, is it necessary for me to ask you people for each and every decision I take? Then doesn't that just make me a puppet Hokage? Or perhaps that's the idea of a Hokage you all had, well sorry to burst your bubble but…"

"It isn't necessary to inform us at all times Tsunade however if you check the lawbook this mission was an S-Ranked one and the Hokage is obliged to share information about S-Ranked missions to the Village Council. Maybe if you'd take some time to read the book instead of drinking sake and gambling all the time maybe you'd understand how this village works better." Said Danzo coldly.

Tsunade's fist was tightly curled up and she seemed ready to pound Danzo into pulp however she blew out her steam and spoke, "I had Rei pose as a missing ninja for three four years, only 6 months earlier did the Akatsuki approach her to join their ranks. This happened after the fall of the Akatsuki members Hidan and Kakuzu. For six months Rei has played her part perfectly, doing whatever she must to remain in the Akatsuki. I recently wrote to her and ended her mission owing to the fact that with the Five Kage Summit looming up we need all the information we can get on the Akatsuki" said Tsunade.

"But we can't simply trust her. She might have gone over to the other side" said Koharu Utatane.

"Pardon me Lady Elder however it seems to me that you've seen one too many crime/romance movies where the helpless heroine is kidnapped by the dashing criminal and eventually falls in love and has babies. I assure you I am neither helpless nor is there any ravishing criminal for me to fall in love with, perhaps I could suggest a few movies which would assist you in repelling…"

"SILENCE!" cried an elder glaring at Rei who merely bowed and took a step back with a hint of a smile on her face.

"Tsunade, we have trusted you with several decisions in the past and that got the village destroyed. I'm afraid I will have to vote for the immediate expulsion of this woman from Konoha" said Danzo coldly.

"I too vote for her expulsion" cried Koharu.

"Yes, me too" said Homura as the elders all piped their approval for Danzo's words.

"Motion rejected!" said Tsunade firmly.

"What? How dare you. You don't have the authority to…"

"The Hokage of the Village is applicable to appeal to the Daimyo on matters of any particular motion, with the consent of the Daimyo and the Jounin of the village any motion passed by the Elders can be rejected" said Tsunade calmly staring at Danzo, "You see, I do read the book every now and then"

"Do you mean to say the Daimyo has approved? As well as the Jounin of the Village?" scoffed Danzo.

"Ah! I seem to have forgotten to mention a certain fact. Rei's late mother was the Daimyo's niece, and as for the Jounin, they have faith in me which is more than I can say for you" said Tsunade.

"The Daimyo's Grandniece huh? Hats off to you Tsunade, who would have guessed that Hiruzen's pupil, would have stopped to using cheap tricks" said Danzo.

Tsunade gave him a triumphant look, "I do what is necessary for the good of the village" she said.

Danzo got up, "Well if the Daimyo has consented and the Jounin wish it, I will once more lay my approval, however you must send me a copy of the Daimyo and the Jounin's approval, without that no proof can be obtained" said Danzo as he shuffled out, his one eye glaring at Tsunade till he walked out followed by the other Elders.

After they all left Rei let out a long sigh. "My compliments Lady Hokage, you did an excellent job of holding your temper out against Danzo" she said.

"I've had 4 years worth practice" said Tsunade as there was a loud knocking at the door.

"Oh boy, here we go again" said Tsunade before crying out, "Get your butts in"

Ibiki Morino stepped in, "I believe we've held back Uzumaki Naruto for as long as we can" he said quietly.

"Very well get him in here and Sakura too, and get all the Konoha Eleven here as well" said Tsunade as Ibiki nodded and walked out.

"Still as stoic as ever" said Rei watching the man retreat.

"Be careful Rei, Naruto might react violently to your presence even after I explain things to him, if he should attack you…"

"I know enough to block him Tsunade-Sama, are you forgetting what I specialize in?" asked Rei.

"Running away from battles which you think are too tough for you," said Tsunade severely.

Rei smirked, "You know me too well" she said quietly.

Fifteen minutes later the door to the meeting room opened and Sakura, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Lee, Tenten, Neji and Naruto walked in cautiously.

At the sight of the former Akatsuki member perched on the table they took one step back.

"Granny, what's going on? What's an Akatsuki member doing in Konoha?" burst out Naruto as soon as he barged into the room.

"Calm down Naruto" said Tsunade.

"How can you expect me…or anybody to be calm when you've got an S-Ranked criminal in the same room as…"

"I said CALM DOWN Naruto" said Tsunade angrily as the blonde boy subsided.

At Tsunade's gesture everybody took a seat. Tsunade informed them of the situation and explained about Rei's position and her 4 year long S=Ranked Mission.

"So…she was a fake Akatsuki member?" asked Sakura uncertainly.

"I suppose you could put it that way. Our objective was information and undoubtedly this is the greatest espionage mission anyone could have taken and Rei did it" said Tsunade.

"Fooled the Akatsuki. Not bad" said Neji looking impressed.

"Yeesh it gives me the heeby jeebies just thinking about it" said Ino shivering a little.

"Anyways Rei has now finished her mission and has resumed her former position has Supreme Commander of the Anbu, thus giving her the power to work directly below me" said Tsunade.

"Hang on; you just said _former_ position that means she was the Supreme Commander _before_? How come we never heard of her?" questioned Kiba.

"In the past, the identity of the Supreme Commander was known only to the Hokage because in case of the death of the Hokage the Supreme Commander would be the highest ranking member of the village with the most valuable information and a target from all directions, however in this the situation I have no alternative but to reveal her identity" said Tsunade.

"Might I add that I can do _terrible_ things to those who target me" said Rei beaming at the Konoha eleven who stared at her in discomfort.

"Anyways I have called you all here for a specific purpose, I have a mission for you all, an S-Rank Alliance Mission with certain members of the other Villages if we can set up an agreement, but certainly with Sunagakure. Now, this mission might turn out to be the toughest you ever face, I don't want to hear any excuses later on. So if you feel you might not be up to the task, then please move out now" said Tsunade.

"How do you expect us to judge when we don't even know what task we're up against?" asked Shikamaru.

"I'll leave that up to your instincts, however this mission may cause a lot of physical and mental pain so please move out now if you feel you're unable to do it" said Tsunade as she was greeted by pin drop silence.

"Very well, you're all in it now whether you like it or not" said Tsunade.

"In what exactly?" asked Naruto who had been silent till now.

Tsunade glanced at Rei who hopped off the table and went to the window behind Tsunade's chair. Taking out a large sheet of paper she stuck it onto the window as Sakura and Ino gasped loudly.

On the paper was drawn a very accurate picture of Uchiha Sasuke's face. With a slightly exaggerated sneer and arrogant smirk, it still looked like Sasuke, drawn in pencil and passed on a window.

"Our mission my dear comrades, is the tracking, torturing and ultimate incapacitating of Uchiha Sasuke" said Rei.

* * *

><p>In Kusagakure, in a cave hidden from sight by an intricate genjutsu sat Sasuke Uchiha panting and sweating as his equally tired subordinates Suigetsu and Jugo sat behind him.<p>

"Are you okay Sasuke? I knew it was a bad idea to go after that guy alone, he's an A-Ranked criminal" said Karin.

"Hello, so are we" cried Suigetsu as Karin ignored him.

"Take of your shirt Sasuke, I'll heal you" said Karin.

"Since when does direct skin contact a requirement for medical ninjutsu" cried Suigetsu as his face exploded into water as Karin threw a slipper at him.

"Shut it, both of you. I don't need healing; I'll just rest up for a little while. Madara said he'll drop by in a little while. Apparently Asakura was a spy, he needs a meeting with all the members" said Sasuke.

"Asakura was a spy? Really? Well shiver me timbers she sure fooled me" said Suigetsu looking astonished.

"Not a very difficult task" said Karin.

"Shut up" cried Suigetsu.

"If Asakura was indeed a spy then lots of valuable information might be in the hands of Konoha" said Juugo.

"Precisely why our next mission…will be the assassination of Rei Asakura" said Sasuke.


	4. A Domicile for Asakura

Hey guys long time no seen. My fault? Yeah I know. Sorry about that! Heh, heh, so here's the next chapter in 'The Naruto Saga'. I do hope you'll like it enough to flood me with reviews! I do hope to achieve 15 reviews by the end of this chapter! Please, please do help me achieve it! Thanks. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Greetings to all of you, it has been a very long time since all of us have gathered under one roof. We've been through a lot in these past two years and there's a lot left to wade through" said the masked Madara Uchiha as he sat at the head of a long table in a completely sealed off room tucked away underground in the Land of Birds.<p>

"We don't have a lot of time so I'll get straight to the point. As you all probably know one of our ranks has turned out to be a filthy spy who was working for Konoha. Our primary goal at this point will be to completely erase the existence of Rei Asakura from this world" said Madara, "For that task I will need your help, Sasuke, and also that of your group"

Sasuke nodded slightly but did not say anything.

"Also to Kisame and Zetsu our oldest members I'd like to introduce the three new members of Akatsuki whom I have gathered from Kumo, Suna and Kiri" said Madara as three cloaked figures appeared behind him.

The first stepped forward, "I am a big man. My name is Terai. I am a big man. I am now going to be in this organization. I am a big man. Anyone who crosses me shall suffer a crushing defeat. I am a big man. That is all"

Kisame looked away to avoid snickering as the 'big man' spoke.

True to his word the man was indeed big in size. However his voice was that of a 13 year old child whose voice was just cracking due to adolescence. His eyes were round, stupid and unfocused and though his cloak hid his body it was clear he was heavily built with brown tanned skin and a scruffy beard. On his back he carried a large round object which was covered in bandages.

The second cloaked figure stepped forward, "My name is Kaguro, I hail from the great village of Sunagakure. There is nothing I have to say to you worthless people as it's a waste of my time and time is money."

"_Oh great! We got ourselves another Kakuzu!"_ thought Kisame dryly as he glanced at the second member.

He was slim and tall. Very tall. Almost like a wire. His eyes were thin and slit-like and his nose was long. His mouth had a permanent nasty grin on it and his long arms and legs were hidden under his cloak. Also a large cluster of pimples were spread across his nose.

"Our third member is rather upset at the moment, his partner was Asakura who assaulted him and escaped before he could react so please no taunting comments on his obvious lack of alertness" said Madara rather maliciously as the third member clenched his fists and pulled his hat lower over his face.

"Name's Kaoru, I prefer to be left alone most of the times. If you guys are jerks I'll kill you" he muttered.

"Dear, dear it seems to have become a standard for Akatsuki members to threaten to kill each other" said a slimy, _rather snaky_ voice from behind Madara as Kabuto Yakushi stepped forward, his slit eyes gleaming and his features more like Orochimaru than ever.

"Ah, Kabuto I was just wondering what became of you. Please do have a seat. You three must be seated as well" said Madara as everybody sat down.

"Kisame, Zetsu, Sasuke, Kabuto, Terai, Kaguro, Kaoru and myself. We are all the remains of Akatsuki. You're three subordinates are not counted Sasuke, they're level of skill does not permit me to I'm afraid." Said Madara as Sasuke shrugged.

"Alas we've lost many a wonderful members to those wretched Shinobi. Orochimaru, Sasori, Deidara, Kakuzu, Hidan, Konan, Pain and of course…Itachi" said Madara as Sasuke's back stiffened.

"So what I propose is that after we have finished dealing with Rei Asakura we will weaken the 5 Kages by eliminating the strongest members of their villages in the village namely the 5 Kages themselves. I beg you to not underestimate those 5 individuals, apart from having great power and a sickening sense of honor and loyalty they're also very persistent albeit slightly easy to manipulate of course. With these five burdens out of our way we will be free to pursue the Daimyos and finally the remaining two jinchuriki. Am I clear?" asked Madara.

"Of course Uchiha-Dono, it is a marvelous plan" said Kaguro rubbing his rubbery hands together.

"When it comes to partnership the question is solved. Zetsu will be working alone as usual. I of course do not require a partner. That leaves six of you. Kisame, your fighting style will go well with Terai's who is also a weapon user. I'm sure Kaguro, that you can get along well with Kaoru. And as for you Sasuke…you're with Kabuto" said Madara watching the handsome Uchiha carefully.

Sasuke's stoic exterior faltered for a moment before his cold eyes stared of into space again.

"Very well then, if you all are fine then we'll end this meeting right here. Zetsu report to me with details about Asakura's location. Get me a list of the Daimyo's as well and their locations. The rest of you remain on standby till further orders. Dismissed!"

* * *

><p>"Listen up and listen well because I neither have the time nor the energy to repeat. All twelve of you, namely Naruto, Sakura, Sai, Shikamaru, Chouji, Ino, Hinata , Kiba, Shino, Lee, Neji and Tenten will constitute the Squad that is created solely for the purpose of capturing Sasuke." Said Tsunade, "Your Squadron Commander will be Rei and you'll have a certain number of Jonin from other villages working aside you"<p>

"Excuse me, Hokage-Sama, but I don't understand the concept of Squadrons. Aren't we usually divided into teams?" asked Neji.

"Yes we usually are, however it has been decided by the Daimyo's and the Kages on a pre-meeting basis that all our forces will be combined to form Squadrons, each Squadron specializing in a certain aspect of battle with it's own Commander and Lieutenant. Since Sasuke is a Konoha Shinobi and we know most of what there is to know about him the Anti-Sasuke Squad consists of mostly Konoha Shinobi, in other words, the twelve of you. Four more members, one from each of the other villages will be arriving in Konoha next week to set up base here and work with all of you. Like I said Rei will be your commander." Said Tsunade.

"I see, and is this merely a wartime measure or is it permanent?" asked Shino.

"We can't say for sure at the moment. But we'll let you know in due time. Now Rei will tell you your tasks and I want complete cooperation" said Tsunade giving Naruto a hard look, "I'm off to bed now, I've got a splitting headache, if you've got queries, just ask Rei"

Saying so Tsunade wearily got up from the chair she had been sitting on for the past five hours and trooped out of the room.

"Right now that Tsunade-Sama has enlightened us with what we're required to do, I'd like to know who exist in my team. But since it's rude to demand an introduction without giving your own I will first introduce myself. My name, as you probably are aware of by now, is Rei Asakura. I'm 24 years and 6 months old. My dreams involve cleansing the world of all that is impure, specifically: murderers, thieves, kidnappers, looters, brigands, pirates, missing ninja and lecherous old pedophiles. I have served as the Supreme Commander of the Anbu for five years from the age of 14 to 19 after which I was assigned the mission to infiltrate the Akatsuki which I have been performing for the last four years. Now it's your turn" she said once more climbing and sitting on the table rather than the chair and glancing around expectantly at the eleven (minus Sai) present in the room.

One by one all of them introduced themselves as only Naruto remained. As he opened his mouth to speak Rei held up her hand.

"Uzumaki Naruto, who needs an introduction from you? You're probably the most famous person in the village today. You mastered the Rasengan at the age of 12 and have trained under Lord Jiraiya. You've also taken the extremely difficult training of Senjutsu at Myobokuzan and recently defeated the Pseudo-Leader of Akatsuki: Pain who is considered to be one of the strongest Shinobi in the world. You've also had a record for defeating various powerful criminals in the past such as Monster Zabuza of the Mist, Kakuzu of Takigakure and many more. Also you're the jinchuriki of the Kyubi and the son of the famous Yondaime Hokage. And if my sources are not incorrect you're favorite food is ramen which is available at a shop known as…Ichiraku" Said Rei coolly as Naruto's mouth fell open.

"How the hell did you know all that if you were parading around as a missing ninja for the past four years?" asked Naruto suspiciously.

"My dear ignorant platypus it's my job to spy on people and find out everything I need to know about them. I'm the despicable sort of women who wouldn't think twice about abandoning a friend on the battlefield or stabbing an enemy when their back is turned. It's because of these qualities that I have maintained my position for so long and it's because of these that I am perfect to lead the Anti-Sasuke Squad" said Rei.

"That's nothing to be proud about" said Sakura indignantly.

Rei glanced at her and Sakura was shocked for a moment at how cold and unfeeling her silver eyes were in contrast to her pleasant smile which to Sakura now seemed like a nasty smirk.

"Indeed, it isn't. In any case, our last four members will join us next week. What I have decided is that with 16 of you working under me it's safe to divide you all into four groups. Initially I decided on the Attack Group, The Medical Group, The tracking Group and the Intelligence Group. Any objections?" asked Rei and then without waiting for an answer she continued, "I've already made out the chart while Tsunade-Sama was bickering with the Elders. Please look to the wall on your left"

Everybody looked and then crowded around the parchment their which showed how the groups were divided.

Naruto, Tenten, Lee and Chouji had been placed in the attack group. Sakura, Ino, an unknown girl from Kiri called Kaori and a Jonin from Kumo called C were in the Medical team. Sai, Hinata, Shino and Kiba were on the tracking team. The intelligence group consisted of Neji, Shikamaru, a girl called Kurotsuchi from Iwagakure and Temari from Sunagakure.

"I hope you'll all get along well. As for the Lieutenant of this squad I personally think Shikamaru Nara-San will do a splendid job. You're intelligence and strategic tactics are rumored to be first class" said Rei.

Shikamaru shoulders sagged at the prospect of being given such an important job still he managed to salute Rei once and sank back muttering his usual 'Troublesome'.

"Now as you know I'm returning to Konoha after four years. As such I will need lodgings to stay. Tsunade-Sama overlooked that fact when I met her so I hope one of you has a large house" said Rei smiling.

"Large house? What the hell you'll be staying with us?" asked Naruto.

"What exactly do you mean by 'us' Naruto-Chan?" asked Rei, "Surely you don't think I'm capable of dividing myself into eleven pieces do you?"

"N-Naruto-Chan? I…who the hell allowed you to use that? What I meant was as Supreme Commander shouldn't you be loaded?" asked Naruto.

'Indeed you're just as dumb as my sources described. Haven't I just said I was posing as a missing ninja for four years? While the money will be most acceptable it will take time to bill it all out and till then I'd prefer not sleeping on the streets" said Rei.

Her silver eyes scanned the ninja before her._" The last thing I want to do is get stuck with that pompous Hiashi Hyuga so I'll skip them. The Aburame's have a vast mansion but those creepy-crawlies freak me out. The Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi are small clans while the Inuzuka live in such awful dumps that I'd rather sleep on the street. That Tenten girl and Rock Lee live in dormitories so that leaves Haruno and Uzumaki. Hmmmm." _Thought Rei chewing on a strand of hair that framed her face.

"I think I'll camp out with you Naruto-Chan!" said Rei beaming as Naruto's eyes widened in horror.

"No ways. Nooooooooooooooooooooo way in hell am I letting you into my room" cried Naruto backing into the door.

"Who said anything about your room? I want to camp down in your house that's all" said Rei refusing to admit defeat.

"I'm sure you don't know but….Naruto's house is a room" said Sakura uneasily.

"What? But you're the hero of Konoha! I thought you'd at least have a proper house if not a mansion" cried Rei in dismayed surprise.

"Well I don't! Go live with Sakura!" cried Naruto making a shoo-ing motion with his hands.

Rei walked over to Naruto and collapsed on her knees before him. She looked up teary-eyed with a very convincing look of sheer helplessness and despair.

"Please Naruto, oh please let me live with you! I'll sleep under you're bed if I must keeping the cobwebs company, I'll eat moldy bread if I musty, stale milk, expired ramen, anything that you might deign to toss over to me. I'll clean your hou…sorry room, from top to bottom and I promise I'll try to cure my habit of pinching things, really. Just please let me live with you…sniff sniff" she wailed as tears poured down her eyes.

Hinata's kind heart was immediately moved seeing the woman crying. "Nii-Sama, can't we have her?" she asked as Neji shot her a threatening look.

"_Trust Hinata-Sama to be taken in by this melodrama"_ thought Neji anticipating Naruto's reaction.

Naruto looked extremely uncomfortable and yet unwillingly to consent.

"Pleaseeeeeeeee" cried Rei as Naruto gave a large sigh.

"Okay, fine. But you're gonna sleep on the floor and you'll owe me a week's worth ramen got it?"

Immediately the weeping woman sprung up, beaming like sunshine with no trace of the tears whatsoever.

"Got it, thank you very much for your kindness Naruto-Chan!" she beamed as Sakura gave a small sigh of relief at not having to house the perculair woman.

"Shall we set off then? I have a lot of luggage. You all will probably see to it that it's safely delivered to Naruto's house won't you?" demanded Rei as the men in the room stared dumbstruck.

"Thanks, I thought you would. One last announcement. I'll be conducting an individual appraisal of everybody's skills starting tomorrow. We'll begin with you Haruno. Be there at the field at sharp 8. And you Hyuga" she said pointing it Hinata who jumped, "Be there at the field at 2:30 got it?"

"H-Hai" murmured Hinata twiddling her fingers in nervousness as Sakura merely nodded.

"Good, I'll be seeing you. The rest of you better get training. Things are about to get smoking hot!" said Rei as she opened the window with Sasuke's portrait on it and jumped out.


End file.
